Beds for the Blind

Supporting Blind Children in School No. 116 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Hamburg/Ulaanbaatar, October 2013 - APPLICATIO supported - and will keep on supporting the blind children of School No. 6 in Ulaanbaatar of Mongolia. A first project - financed by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany - has now been finalised with 24 new beds for the boarding home.

During the world White Cane Safety Day on October 15, 2013, school 116 for disabled children in Ulaanbaatar celebrated the successful finalisation of the project “Beds for the Blind” implementation with assistance of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Life is not easy in Ulaanbaatar nowadays. Life is even harder for those that are suffering from disabilities and diseases. The weakest in our society are disabled children… they need all help a society can give them and more!

Based on an initiative of parents whose children are learning and mostly living in “Special School No. 161” in Ulaanbaatar and APPLICATIO GmbH, a consulting firm from Germany, a project was launched to improve living conditions for the 63 pupil living in the dormitory of the school. Up to 6 children, aged 8 to 21, share one sleeping room with beds and furniture that did not meet the needs of blind children at all. The idea was born to improve sleeping and living conditions to improve the health situation for the weakest of the weak in Ulaanbaatar.

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany with its “Micro-project Fund” stepped in immediately without too high – if any – administrative requirements and offered to finance larger parts of the improvements. 24 beds and other equipment were purchased and installed by the parents’ initiative with the Germany assistance within only two months during the summer break.

Each pure-wood bed is equipped with a drawer under the bed, night table, a highest quality mattress, a Mongolian camel-wool mattress-topper and a protective cover, all of which produced and delivered by leading Mongolian small enterprises.

Although there is still a lot to be done, living conditions improved remarkably already and those children living in the school with the highest need find highly improved sleeping conditions now. During the White Cane Safety Day the school, the children and the parents’ initiative say: ”Thank you, German Embassy!” … what a promising example for quick and un-bureaucratic help for those that need it most – our children!

APPLICATIO would like to thank the Embassy as well! Never ever has the APPLICATIO team thought that financial help can be granted in such a generous and unbureaucratic way. Thanks!